Fats 70-80% of the diet: where to get them

When there are few carbohydrates in the day, the body needs another source of energy. That source becomes fat — both the fat that comes from food and the body's own fat.

This is where the steady energy people usually talk about first comes from. Glucose gives short rises and equally short drops, while fat burns slowly and without spikes.

Half the plate is vegetables, a quarter is protein, and a quarter is fats. This is a way not to count grams every day.

If you assemble every meal this way, the percentages add up on their own: vegetables provide volume, protein maintains satiety, and fat provides energy. You only have to count for the first couple of weeks, until your eye gets used to it.

Because they are the easiest to eat without counting. A handful of nuts in the evening while watching a series is not a “healthy snack,” but extra calories plus breaking the “no snacks” rule.

Daily guidelines: nuts 20-30 g, chocolate 85% and higher 10-20 g, added oil 10-20 g. This is an upper limit, not a mandatory amount — nobody needs these every day.

Start with half or a third of the recommended portions. If there used to be little fat in your diet, the gallbladder and enzymes need time.

Heaviness after lard or bacon means that the portion should be cut in half, not endured. The same applies to sauerkraut: bloating is addressed by reducing the volume, and if it is not tolerated, replace it with bell pepper dressed with apple cider vinegar.

If the gallbladder has been removed, increase fat especially gradually and according to tolerance.

No, and this is the only area where it is worth understanding the types.

The foundation of the diet is fats from whole foods: fish, eggs, avocado, nuts, seeds, cold-pressed olive oil, butter, and cheese. They come together with protein, fiber, or micronutrients, which is exactly why they are convenient to eat.

Omega-3 from fatty fish, flax, and chia is a separate category. There is almost always too little of it in a regular diet, so in this approach fish is eaten several times a week, while flax and chia are eaten every day, two to three spoonfuls.

What to avoid: industrial trans fats and everything that comes with sugar. Puff pastry, store-bought sauces made with cheap oil, ready-made desserts. Here the problem is not even fat itself, but the company it keeps.

Do not try to make up the difference. This is the most common wrong move: a person sees 70-80% and starts eating oil by the spoonful to reach the percentage.

Percentages describe the diet; they are not a task for the day. If you eat fish, eggs, avocado, dress salad with oil, and are not afraid of fatty meat, they add up on their own.

If fat really does not go down, the issue is usually not the fat but the amount of food: there are two or three meals, and each should be complete. A portion that is too small will provide neither enough fat nor satiety, and in the evening everything will come back as overeating.

Almost everyone asks this question, and the honest answer is this: the response is individual, and you should monitor it not by how you feel but by test results.

If you have cardiovascular disease, familial hypercholesterolemia, or are already taking medication, switching to a diet with a high proportion of fat should be discussed with a doctor in advance, not after the fact.

In other cases, the sensible order is simple: get a lipid profile before starting and repeat it after several months. Then the conversation is about numbers, not fears from the internet.

You should not sharply increase the proportion of fat on your own if your gallbladder has been removed or if you have pancreatic disease — a doctor and a gradual approach are needed here.

A strict low-carbohydrate version is not recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If you have chronic kidney disease, coordinate the diet with a nephrologist.